Due to the Pandemic, my belly is blossoming. Deep creek used to be my way of staying slim. So I headed back to my favorite health routine because my belly is bigger than ever before. I got to the Freedom trailhead at 1 pm. My phone said it was 98 degrees and there was no wind. There were no cars in the parking area. I could see no cars at the Bowen ranch either. I saw no cars or people on the road also, kind of unusual. There were plenty of lizards and birds on my hike to the springs. But still no one on the trail. So, I figured not many wanted to sit in hot water on a hot day.
When I got to the water there were about 30 persons. Most were sitting in the coolness of the creek. As I hiked upstream I saw about 15 persons camping in tents. Back at the beaches, Hippy Dave was talking his usual rap. It was good to see my old friend. He was the only regular for this trip.
At 4 pm I got my new thermometer out and took the temps. The creek water was 87 degrees at where most people cross the creek. It was 86 degrees just upstream from the Phoenix pool.
The Phoenix pool was too hot to sit in for long at 110 degrees. It needs some tender loving care because it was only half full.
The Anniversary pool was even hotter at 111 degrees. Not many soakers ventured there.
The Womb pool was at 108 degrees. Hard to handle on this hot day.
The Serenity pool was alternating from 108 to 110 degrees. now we know why it was not too crowded.
Someone has rebuilt the Goldy locks pool. It was the most used pool. The temp there was between 101 to 103 degrees. It is the pool built from sandbags in the creek below the Serenity pool.
After it cooled a bit I took my hose out and cleaned the dead algae from the bottom of the Womb pool. Surprisingly I found an iPhone at the very bottom of the pool under @ 2 feet of algae. It had a cover that had algae growing on it. A sign that this phone had been there for a while. At home I dried it best I could and plugged it into a charger nothing happened.
I also found a gold ring that fit my finger just right.
The trash situation was not too terrible. I picked up my 13-gallon trash bag until it was full. Mostly the trash I took was from the sign that says no camping.
Just before sundown as I headed up the hill 3 groups of persons with camping equipment were coming in, Just before I got to the parking lot 3 more groups with camping equipment. Then as I unloaded my backpack 3 more cars came into the parking area. Friday night must have been a good time for camping at D.C.H.S.
Please be safe and help keep the trash away from the National Forest.